Qian Chu (September 29, 929 – October 7, 988,

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

Wende), known as Qian Hongchu before 960, was the last king of

Wuyue Wuyue (; ), 907–978, was an independent coastal kingdom founded during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960) of Chinese history. It was ruled by the Haiyan Qian clan (海盐钱氏), whose family name remains widespread in t ...

, reigning from 947 until 978 when he surrendered his kingdom to the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

Life

Qian Chu came to power after his brother, Qian Zong, was deposed in a coup d'état. At the time,

was at its largest territorial extent, ruling 13 in modern-day

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, and

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

. Throughout its history, Wuyue maintained a policy of nominally submitting to the successive dominant northern regimes. Unlike the other small states in the south, the Wuyue kings never declared themselves Emperor. In return, the northern regimes respected Wuyue's autonomy and conferred upon its kings high honours, one of which was the title of "Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven". Indeed, Qian Chu changed his name from the original Qian Hongchu, because the character ''hong'' was barred by

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

(as the name of

Emperor Taizu of Song Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founder and first emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguish ...

's father was Zhao Hongyin ()). When the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

unified northern China in the 960s, Qian Chu reportedly followed his ancestor

Qian Liu Qian Liu (10 March 852Academia Sinica Chinese-Western Calendar Converter

's instruction to submit as soon as possible when the "true lord" appeared. In 960, Qian Chu submitted to Song, and changed his name in the same year. Subsequently, Qian Chu obeyed orders from the Song court to participate in the annexation of the other small southern kingdoms on behalf of the Song emperor. In 968, he was re-created the King of Wuyue by the Song emperor, and subsequently invested with further imperial honours. In 977, the new emperor

Emperor Taizong of Song Zhao Jiong (20 November 939 – 8 May 997), known as Zhao Guangyi from 960 to 977 and Zhao Kuangyi before 960, also known by his temple name Taizong after his death, was the second emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 976 to h ...

invested Qian with the nominal titles Chancellor, Chief Secretary, and Commander of All Horses and Soldiers Under Heaven. However, in 978, Qian Chu surrendered his territories to the Song regime, possibly under veiled threat from the Song court. Nevertheless, the "voluntary" surrender protected the Wuyue region from the ravages of war that visited other contemporary regimes. The region was able to maintain its infrastructure and economic advantage, built up over the Wuyue period, which in no small part contributed to the

Yangtze Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan reg ...

being the economic centre of China up to the present day. To allay northern suspicions and prevent conflict, Qian Chu stayed in the Song capital, Bianjing (now

Kaifeng Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...

), and moved 3000 members of his household there. Qian nominally remained a king. His sons and a large number of the Wuyue elite were given various imperial posts and titles. Initially, Emperor Taizong of Song raised the prefecture of

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yan ...

to the nominal state of Huaihai (), and installed Qian Chu as King of Huaihai (). In 984, Qian Chu was made King of Hannan () (a smaller nominal feoff) instead, and in 987 reduced again to King of Nanyang (), with the right to take up residence in

Nanyang Nanyang is the romanization of two common Chinese place names. It may refer to: Written as 南洋 (Southern Ocean) * Nanyang (region), a Chinese term denoting the Southeast Asian lands surrounding the South China Sea ;China * Nanyang Fleet, Qing ...

, but then immediately additionally created Prince of Xu (), with an enlarged feoff. In 988, Qian Chu lost his title as king and was made Prince of Deng () instead, with a larger nominal feoff and actual income. Qian Chu reportedly enjoyed a good personal relationship with the emperor, being regularly summoned to the palace for banquets and ball games. On his 60th birthday (by the Chinese calendar) in 988,

sent him wine as a gift. After drinking the wine, he became violently ill and died that night. He was given a state funeral, posthumously raised to King of Qin, and buried near

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

.Zhejiang News: The last king of Wuyue's tomb may be in Cangnan
/ref> Qian Chu had seven sons, one of whom went on to become a

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

in the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

court.

Other legacy

Qian Chu enjoyed writing poetry. One of his published poems survives to this day. Like the other kings of

, Qian Chu was a devout Buddhist. Leifeng Pagoda in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

was constructed on his orders to celebrate the conception of his son and in some versions, for Consort Huang.

Family

Consorts and their respective issue(s): * Queen of Wuyue, of the Sun clan (吳越國王妃孫氏, d. 976), personal name Taizhen (太真) ** Qian Weijun (錢惟濬, 22 October 955 – 991), honored Prince Anxi of Bin (邠安僖王) posthumously, first son *Consort Huang, of the Huang clan (黃妃) * Lady of Chu State, of the Yu clan (楚國夫人俞氏) **

Qian Weiyan Qian Weiyan(, 977 – September 3, 1034) was a Chinese politician and poet. He was the 14th son of the last king of Wuyue Qian Hongchu and the great grandson of Qian Liu. He was best known for his literary style "Xikun style" which features the us ...

(錢惟演, 977 – 3 September 1034), Duke of Ying (英國公), fourteenth son *Unknown: **Qian Weixuan (錢惟渲), third son **Qian Weihao (錢惟灝), fourth son **Qian Weijin (錢惟溍), fifth son **Qian Weicui (钱惟漼), sixth son **Eight Unnamed son **Qian Weiji (錢惟濟) (978-1032), fifteenth son **Seven daughters *Adopted children: **Qian Weizhi (錢惟治) (949-1019), honored Commandery Prince of Pengcheng (彭城郡王) posthumously, biological son of

Qian Hongzong Qian Hongzong (錢弘倧) (c. 928 – 971?), known as Qian Zong (錢倧) during Song, courtesy name Longdao (隆道), nickname Wanjin (萬金), formally King Zhongxun of Wuyue (吳越忠遜王), was the fourth king of the Chinese Five Dynasties an ...

References

Notes

General

* * , - style="text-align: center;" , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Qian, Chu 929 births 988 deaths Wuyue kings Song dynasty poets Writers from Hangzhou Politicians from Hangzhou 10th-century Chinese poets Poets from Zhejiang Wuyue Buddhists Song dynasty Buddhists Song dynasty jiedushi of Wusheng Circuit 10th-century Chinese people Song dynasty politicians from Zhejiang Chinese Buddhist monarchs